"ISMAILI-SUFI-DARWISH-MYSTIC"ESOTERIC" POETRY

Put your inspiration poems or quotes here...
From_Alamut
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Re: "THE ISMAILI SUFISM POETRY AND POEMS"

Post by From_Alamut »

In Praise of Ali (2)


My back - by the grace of God and in devotion of Him -

is strong enough perhaps that I might attain

tot he Messenger and his intercession; I ask for no other

to plead for me with God but His Prophet, and to plead

for me with the Prophet none but his blessed Family,

with whom I shall go to him; no fear of taint

or contagion from hypocrites. The Religion of Allah

is the Prophet s kingdom and today all creatures

are his subjects, his Community. Your slave

does not owe you even half the obedience

that the Prophet s Community owes him.

He has ordered you not to kill your slave for disobedience

nor will he slay you for your rebellion;

do not sever yourself from his all-encompassing protection,

for he is the Guide of all creation, his message

has reached from one end of the world to the other.

After him, his Family are the Guides - reverence him

and turn not from his Family. If you know him not

then you must know his children - how else

in your bewilderment can you hope for his mercy?

Have you not heard to whom the Prophet entrusted

his dominion on the day of his Sermon by the ditch?

the one to whom allusion is made in the Book?

the one before whose courage the boldness of the unbelievers

faded like a lantern his up to the sun?

Who gave his ring to a beggar? to whom

all the descendants of the Prophet trace their family tree?

who slept in the Prophet s bed, while the Messenger

fled from his enemies in the Migration? to whom

the Prophet gave the banner in the battle of Badr

when all others quailed? the lion, the warrior

whom God has made all heroes to love?

On the field of battle our Prophet had no miracle

more potent than that man s might. It is he

who will distribute paradise and hell to the faithful

and unfaithful. He is the Gate of the City of Knowledge

which is the Prophet; no one but him

is worthy of that trust. If you seek the City

go to its gate, that felicity s light may brighten your heart.

Yes, he was the Prophet s miracle in battle

and Zulfiqar, his two-tongued sword, was his own miracle.

The Prophet was God s treasure, but he -

his mind and heart - were the Prophet s treasure.

The enemies of God s lion are beset with the disease of ill omen

and cannot be accused of anything but stupidity,

or the horror of an ass when it sees a lion.

Turn away, flee those infected with such prestige,

but if they show you honour, do not (for the sake

of dignity of Islam) refuse their reverence.

In disputation with them do not expect more

than dullness, for they have no other tool to use

but the gelid intellects, nothing to talk

but nonesense. When the chain of stupidity rusts shut

there s no escape. All their proof is simply abuse -

but who will listen to it on Resurrection Day?

Satan is powerful, yes, but his power lies

only in falsehood and cunning. God values

one above another for his faith - if you expect

succour from Him, give succour to His True Religion.

Put no stock in the moment s good luck

for fortune always hides destruction within it.

I find the world a faithless bawd -

do not mourn her loss. The only positive thing

one can say about her is that she s living proof

of the ephemerality of material good.

Her boon is bane - for no one shall escape death

who has drunk fro her cup - and therefore

do not cover her flawed and sickly benediction.

I ought not strive to gain her company

while she strives for nothing but y discomfort.

She gave me robe after rich robe of honour

then stole them all back, one by one.

Now that I lean for support on God and Islam

I grow weary o the world and of men

and by God s Grace I am freed of need

of anyone who does not need me. The blessed Quran

reposes in my heart, which is filled with peace.

Praise the Lord, that nothing burdens my back

but His favour and Grace, that thanks to the generosity

of the true Imam I have come to know his truth,

his certainty and the justice of his cause -

that matchless king whose domain, of all the earth,

is free of deviltry; who has robed Jupiter

in its constellation of Fortune of all auspiciousness

and joy. Lord, help me to spend my days and nights

in devotion to him, to string together from time to time

a few pious verses based on his knowledge and wisdom.



Reference
Forty Poems from the `Diwan' of Nasir Khusraw. Transl. by P. L. Wilson and Gholam R. Aavani. Tehran: Imperial Iranian Academy of Philosophy, 1977
From_Alamut
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Re: "THE ISMAILI SUFISM POETRY AND POEMS"

Post by From_Alamut »

In Praise of the Prophet


I choose

the Quran

and the Faith of Muhammad

for those

where the choices

of Muhammad himself;

I know

if I practise the two

my Certainty

will become

as the Certitude

of the Prophet.

My key

to Paradise - my guide

to Felicity

the fortified Citadel:

what are they but

the Religion of Muhammad:

For us

he is the Messenger

of God - such

was the carving

on the seal-ring

of the Prophet.

Rooted in my heart:

the Faith

and the Book

as firmly

as in the heart

of Muhammad.

By God s Grace

my hope, my prayer

is to be

the least

of servants in the Community

of Muhammad.

My brother,

in the sea-depths

of religion

the Quran

is the pearl beyond price

of the Prophet;

every king

owns a treasure

of Mohammad.

Now look

to these riches,

this pearl:

who now

is custodian

of Muhammad s legacy?

You yourself

would bequeath your wealth

to your children;

just so are his children

the guardians

the heirs of the Prophet.

Ponder well:

you Muslims

will not fine

the jewels

but in keeping

of Muhammad s progeny.

Surely he handed

all down to him

who was

worthiest

of all Companions

of the Prophet.

Who was he,

the Companion?

his Wife

was the delight

of the eye

of Muhammad

and from this delight

and this Companion

were born

Hasan

and Husayn, the darlings

of Muhammad.

I have seen

in both worlds

the reality

of Husayn

and Hasan: the rose

and jasmine of the Prophet;

where

in heavcn and earth

could such blossoms spring

but in the garden

from the soil

of Muhammad?

I dare not

I tremble

lest I prefer

any creature

above these beloved ones

of God s Prophet.

The Book,

and the Sword

of the Lion of God:

these are bulwarks

beneath the firm Faith

of Muhammad.

Who stood

sword drawn

in every battle

who stood

at the right hand

of the Prophet?

The Sword of Ali

lent its aid

to the Quran

and Ali no doubt

was the Help

of Muhammad.

Ali:

in Islam

as Aaron to Mosses:

partner

companion

of the Prophet;

on the Last Day

Aaron and Moses

shall kiss

the Mantle of Ali,

the sleeve

of Muhammad.

Seek knowledge

he bid us

even in China :

Ah! What praise are mine

in the China

of Muhammad.

I heard

from the heir

of the Prophet

the honeysweet

words, the Sayings

of Muhammad;

my heart beheld

a mystery revealed

from the Origin

to Ali s heart

through the Prophecy

of Muhammad

and learned

from the babes of Fatimah

and her husband

the true

nature

of the Prophet.

Surely

I could have gained

no more than I gained

from that

illustrious child

of the Rank of Muhammad

surely

I could have gained

no more

had I lived

myself in the time

of Muhammad.

The Creator

of the Universe Himself

praise me

for my love

of Ali, my blessings

on the Prophet

and with the Blessing

of the Lord

of the Worlds

I dwell

in the Stronghold

of Muhammad.



Reference
Forty Poems from the `Diwan' of Nasir Khusraw. Transl. by P. L. Wilson and Gholam R. Aavani. Tehran: Imperial Iranian Academy of Philosophy, 1977 THE LAST POEM FROM THE END OF THE BOOK. May Allah Bless Pir Nasir Khusraw (as).....

Reference:
http://www.ismaili.net/Source/Fourty_Poems/fourty.htm
From_Alamut
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Re: "THE ISMAILI SUFISM POETRY AND POEMS"

Post by From_Alamut »

Shimmering Light: An Anthology of Ismaili Poetry
Dr Faquir M Hunzai


London: I. B. Tauris in association with The Institute of Ismaili Studies, 1996.

ISBN (Hardback): 1 85043 907 9
ISBN (Softback): 1 86064 151 2

The literatures of the Islamic peoples are rarely known to Western readers, except for a few classics such as the poetry of Hafiz, the mystical verses of Mawlana Rumi and Omar Khayyam’s Ruba’iyyat. The paucity of reliable translations and of introductions into the complicated web of rhetorical devices, of allusions to the Qur’an and the Prophetic tradition, the rich colours of hyperbolic speech and the measureless feelings expressed by the poets make it difficult for a non-tutored reader to appreciate this poetry in all its dazzling beauty. And even less known than Islamic poetry in general is that of its Ismaili community.

Among those who are connected with Ismaili literature one name, however, was known for a long time: that of Nasir Khusraw (d. after 1072 in northern Badakhshan). His travelogue, Safarnama, was formerly often used in European universities as the first reading book in Persian for its deceptively easy style. The Safarnama was edited and translated into French first by Ch. Schefer of Paris in 1881; during the same decade the German scholar H. Ethe as well as the French orientalist E. Fagnan edited and analysed some other works of the great philosopher-poet. E.G. Browne, well-known for his pioneering work on Persian literature, considered Nasir Khusraw one of the very rare Persian poets whose work would appeal to Western readers as he does not indulge in panegyric poetry but speaks honestly out of his heart, defending the true faith. However, despite E.G. Browne’s enthusiastic praise of Nasir Khusraw’s poetry, which was published in 1905, very few attempts were made to offer his verse, at least in part, to an English-speaking audience. For the mainstream orientalist, Nasir Khusraw’s poetry remained outside the normal course of Islamic studies, and only recently deeper research into his fascinating thought has begun.

One may compare his verse to the work of Ibn Hani, who lived a century before him in the farthest west of the Islamic world, in Andalusia, where he used his highly hyperbolical language to emphasize the Ismaili da‘wa, the call to the “true religion” - so much so that he had to leave his native country to become the panegyrist of al-Mu'izz, the Fatimid caliph who after the conquest of Egypt in 969 AD founded Cairo, al-Qahira al-Mu’izziyya, the capital of the Fatimid empire in which, under the inspiring rule of the Imam of the time, happiness and wealth seemed to reign and people prospered, as Nasir Khusraw shows in both his Safarnama and in some of his autobiographical poems.

Arabic and Persian poetry in honour of the true Imam and of the Ismaili Tariqah were by no means restricted to the classical time when the “Fatimid Sun”, as Nasir Khusraw sometimes calls it, was shining over parts of the East. Pious poets have poured out their hearts wherever small pockets of Ismailis were found, be it in Syria, be it in Eastern Iran, in Badakhshan, where Nasir Khusraw is still venerated as a miraculous saint and wise philosopher, and somewhat later in the vast areas of the western subcontinent, from Gujarat to the Panjab. There, the devotional songs of the community, the ginans, were composed, again, in a large variety of languages - songs, in which the Indian traditional imagery is used side by side with the philosophical vocabulary of the Ismaili tradition. These ginans again deserve an in-depth study owing to their linguistic problems and the complicated Khojki alphabet in which they were noted down till recently. And if the different yet familiar idioms of India and Pakistan were not enough to make our access to Ismaili devotional literature difficult, what can be said of hymns in Burushaski, a language absolutely unrelated to any other known language, and spoken to this day in the high valleys of Hunza?

The different languages used by the Ismaili community during the past millennium have meant that this literature has been a closed book for most people, even within the community - for a Syrian or Iranian Ismaili was or is not able to read and enjoy religious poetry in Sindhi, Burushaski or Shina, while the pious in the lowlands of Sind or Cutch might not be conversant with Arabic or Persian.

For this reason, a collection of Ismaili religious poetry in translation is most welcome to both the insider and the outsider. In this volume we follow the translators through their fine English renderings of a number of selected pieces from many of the linguistic areas in which Ismaili communities lived and still live, and we read with joy and deep admiration the poets’ various statements about the true faith, about the radiance of the Imam whose didar is the hoped-for goal of the believer. The strong faith which has inspired the original pieces is certainly reflected in the translators’ work, and every reader, from whatever religious background he or she may come, will enjoy this anthology and experience the intensity of religious feeling that touches his or her own heart.

The poems show a beautiful way to the “shimmering light” the poets have seen in their visions, a way that will inspire their readers. We hope, therefore, that the anthology may serve as a fine introduction into a hitherto inaccessible world, a world filled with ardent spiritual love and inexhaustible beauty.

(Adapted from the Foreward by Annemarie Schimmel of Shimmering Light: An Anthology of Ismaili Poetry. London: I. B. Tauris in association with The Institute of Ismaili Studies, 1996.)


Reference:
http://iis.ac.uk/view_article.asp?ContentID=100721
From_Alamut
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Re: "THE ISMAILI SUFISM POETRY AND POEMS"

Post by From_Alamut »

The Season of Ogrisons

Brothers, by God, it’s the season of orisons,
Seek your desires, for it’s the time of needs.

It’s the resurrection that manifests every six thousand years,
Now, as it’s the seventh, there’s the lord of the resurrections.

If you don’t recognize the Imam of the Time in truth,
You will head for hellfire, despite your hundred thousand devotions.

All who recognized not their lord
Are certainly plunged in infidelity and darkness.

How can the secret remain hidden between God and his servant?
For God is the knower of mysteries and master of hidden things.

Abandon your caprice and fleshly thoughts, keep your eye steady on the goals,
For naught but nonsense is all in your heart, save him.

All I said from my own imaginings and analogies
Was but a fable and delusion in his presence.

Say the name of Mawlana with the innermost heart sincerity,
For he has become manifest, and his summons is the talk of the town.

From east and west the comrades have manifested,
But all of this is bound by a single indication.

In your grace, cast a glance upon your humble slaves,
For among the people there is much discourse.

Give the wine of yearning from the brimful goblet of Mawlana
For all of this is due to the mercy of the congregations.

Forgive Ibn Husam, your humble slave,
For he is imprisoned in the well of darkness.


Ismaili-Sufi Poet and Mystic Ibn Husam Khusafi (PBUH)

Reference

Shafique N. Virani, "Post-Alamut Persian Poetry," in Hermann Landolt, Samira
Sheikh, Kutub Kassam, eds., An Anthology of Ismaili Literature: A Shi'i Vision of
Islam, London: I.B. Tauris, 2008, 291-296. (Reprint)
http://www1.utm.utoronto.ca/shafiquevirani/


Source:
http://anakin.utm.utoronto.ca/~shafique ... Poetry.pdf
Last edited by From_Alamut on Mon Apr 20, 2009 3:16 pm, edited 1 time in total.
From_Alamut
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Re: "THE ISMAILI SUFISM POETRY AND POEMS"

Post by From_Alamut »

WE CUT OFF OUR HEARTS

We cut off our hearts from attachment to the world,
Regaling our souls by the light of God’s mercy.

Having liberated ourselves from the clutches of the demon of ego,
We serve the Imam of the Time with sincerity.

We from our hearts from the fraud of the internal devil,
Sacrificing our lives in the name of the lord of jinn and men.

We make the exalted name of the sovereign of faith,
Gharib Mirza, the litany of our tongues.

Sometimes he’s a child, sometimes a youth, sometimes an aged man.
‘Tis incumbent we make the prophetic tradition our sign.

May my life be sacrificed for ‘Azizi who has uttered what follows
I present to you a single couplet from his noble discourse:

Without doubt he is ‘Ali himself. In serving him
‘Tis not comely to lean an atom towards ‘why’ or ‘wherefore’.

While the folk of the law turn their faces towards the Ka’ba,
We make Anjudan our Ka’ba of reality.

For in the annihilation of the life of this world
Is everlasting life in that one – so hasten to long for life eternal!

By sinning and disobedience all of us have aged,
We become youths once again by the light of obedience to him.

When our spirit is liberated from the insinuation of the body,
We will make our nests in the neighbourhood of divine mercy.

If we remember our origin with probity,
In the manner of lovers, we will turn our faces towards the place of return...



Ismaili-Sufi Poet and Mystic Husayn (PBUH)

Reference

Shafique N. Virani, "Post-Alamut Persian Poetry," in Hermann Landolt, Samira
Sheikh, Kutub Kassam, eds., An Anthology of Ismaili Literature: A Shi'i Vision of
Islam, London: I.B. Tauris, 2008, 291-296. (Reprint)
http://www1.utm.utoronto.ca/shafiquevirani/

Source:
http://anakin.utm.utoronto.ca/~shafique ... Poetry.pdf
From_Alamut
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Re: "THE ISMAILI SUFISM POETRY AND POEMS"

Post by From_Alamut »

The Trusted Spirit

‘Ali of the age, lord of the time, master of the epoch,
From whose pleasure all your desires you find.

Commander of the epoch, the lord at whose court
A hundred kings like Alexander and Caesar you find.

Seated on the throne of ‘Whose is the Kingdom,’ by God!
Whatever you seek from the light of his friendship you find.

Shah Mustansir billah, the bearer of truth of both the worlds,
In the felicity of whose glance the garden of Ridwan you find.

Treasurer of knowledge divine, king of the throne, by whom
With ease the key to the mysteries of both this world and that you find.

The one signified by the parables of the verses of God’s word,
From him the interpretation of the hidden meaning of the Quran you find....

Day and night, by the nobility of his mighty name,
Weeping and composing his glories, the holy spirit you find.

Doubtless, the trusted spirit inspires such that
My heart hastening on the path to the inspirer you find.


Doubtless, the trusted spirit inspires such that
My heart hastening on the path to the inspirer you find.

From a single hallowed lineage, from ‘Ali till present times,
All, over both worlds, the lords of the command you find.

So long as existed the world, ‘twas never bereft of one of them,
So long as it shall exist, till the end of time, the very same you find.

Traversing the path of naming the Imams of truth,
Da’i The jewel of your speech is verity that from the mine you find.



Ismaili-Sufi Poet Dia Anjudani (PBUH)

Reference

Shafique N. Virani, "Post-Alamut Persian Poetry," in Hermann Landolt, Samira
Sheikh, Kutub Kassam, eds., An Anthology of Ismaili Literature: A Shi'i Vision of
Islam, London: I.B. Tauris, 2008, 291-296. (Reprint)
http://www1.utm.utoronto.ca/shafiquevirani/

Source:
http://anakin.utm.utoronto.ca/~shafique ... Poetry.pdf
From_Alamut
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Re: "THE ISMAILI SUFISM POETRY AND POEMS"

Post by From_Alamut »

Arise!

O heart, from your home in this shadowy container of dust, arise!
From caring for head, wealth, property and life, life the lovers, arise!

You’re trapped in the snare of the world’s bailt;
Cut away greed, from thoughts of this and that, arise!

Be not seduced by devislish colours
In the cause of servitude to the lord of the age, arise!

Leave to infidels the deceits and blandishments of the world;
In this age of trial, like a chivalrous knight, arise!

Do you desire salvation, O brother of mine?
Then with affection for the king of Anjudan, arise!

Iman of the age, Ali of the time, Shah Gharib;
Gird your loins in his service and from your soul, arise!

It’s time to decamp from this world, time to depart;
Why do you tarry while your companions have left? O Darwish, arise!


Ismaili-Darwish(PBUH)

Reference

Shafique N. Virani, "Post-Alamut Persian Poetry," in Hermann Landolt, Samira
Sheikh, Kutub Kassam, eds., An Anthology of Ismaili Literature: A Shi'i Vision of
Islam, London: I.B. Tauris, 2008, 291-296. (Reprint)
http://www1.utm.utoronto.ca/shafiquevirani/

Source:
http://anakin.utm.utoronto.ca/~shafique ... Poetry.pdf
From_Alamut
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Re: "THE ISMAILI SUFISM POETRY AND POEMS"

Post by From_Alamut »

WISDOM DIVINE

Those who caught the scent
Of wisdom divine,
Became slaves of Mustansir Bi’llah.

In love, those who become
Dust at this threshold
Surpass even the portico of the throne
On the basis of their eminence.

I became the slave of a sovereign,
So magnificent and glorious
That all who become his slaves
Become kings of both worlds.

I became a slave so fortunate
That all who beheld me declared:
‘What a lucky slave
Is he whose name is ‘Abd Allah, ‘the slave of God,’

The longing of this forlorn one
Was but to behold the face of the friend.
Praise be to God,
The heart gained what it desired!
Save for your essence,
In the universe you have no like;
Indeed, those who recognize you
Are peerless.

How wonderful! In every age
He appeared in a different form;
Sometimes he’s Mustansir,
Sometimes Salam Allah.

Sometimes an aged man,
A child or a fair youth he becomes;
Sometimes he ascends to the heavens for the ascension,
Or descends into a dark well.

If he appears in a hundred different forms,
Why should those of spiritual insight be anxious?
Those who see with the eye of the heart
Are guided to him aright.

Those who trod not this path
Following your command,
Indeed, though they be familiars of your court,
Are wayward and astray.

By God Almighty!
He who disobeys your order,
Though he may appear an elder of your court,
Is naught but a babe on the path.

O Lord!
In this lowly world, you know,
Years and months passed by;
I lived my life in heedlessness.

O Lord!
In this world for the sake of that one,
I sowed not a seed;
Now the season’s passed.

Then suddenly from the invisible world
An oracle whispered in the inner recesses of my heart:
‘Grieve not! For an unexpected felicity
Has been conferred upon you!’

Though I be bereft of worship,
I take joy in the certainty
That all who became beggars at this court
Become lords of majesty.

O Lord!
Though I’ve been mighty impudent,
I shall not grieve,
For your mercy is my companion.

I also ended with your name,
Since in the realms of faith and world,
The beginning of all tasks,
Commences with ‘In the Name of God.’



Ismaili-Sufi Khwaja Abd Allah-i Ansari (PBUH)

Reference

Shafique N. Virani, "Post-Alamut Persian Poetry," in Hermann Landolt, Samira
Sheikh, Kutub Kassam, eds., An Anthology of Ismaili Literature: A Shi'i Vision of
Islam, London: I.B. Tauris, 2008, 291-296. (Reprint)
http://www1.utm.utoronto.ca/shafiquevirani/

Source:
http://anakin.utm.utoronto.ca/~shafique ... Poetry.pdf
From_Alamut
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Re: "ISMAILI SUFI POETRY AND POEMS"

Post by From_Alamut »

On Praise of Hazar-i Imam

You’ve held my hand all through out my life
You will never let me go, I know you won’t
Your Deedar has filled me with happiness
Making my heart dance everyday
As I remember this occasion all day, everyday
As I celebrate and dance with my family
I feel you right beside me, smiling at me, dancing along
You’re my friend that I always talk to
You’re my mom and dad that I always cry by
You’re the most important person in my life
The person who guides through good and bad times
I know you love me more than I can ever love you
You can sacrifice your life for your murids
Oh Imam! Your Nur is everlasting
You’ve carried me
Holding my hand
Sitting right by me
laughing with me, crying with me
Oh Imam! I love you for what you have done for your murids



By: ~Safia Lakhani~
From_Alamut
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Re: "ISMAILI SUFI POETRY AND POEMS"

Post by From_Alamut »

The people of the house of Prophethood
are the manifestations of light;

They are that which exists forever
and in what has already elapsed;

They are the ships of salvation for those
who come running to them with hope;

They are the rain abundant in moisture
and their grace is the best of springs;

The essence of their souls is knowledge
from a world beyond the intellects;

Indeed, it is their invitation which
rescues souls from the pit of destruction.



By:Shaykh Khudr (as)

Poem from: Shimmering Light: An Anthology of Ismaili Poems, ed. Faquir and Kutub Kassam, pub. I. B. Tauris in association with The Institute of Ismaili Studies, 1997.

http://simerg.com/literary-readings/lit ... salvation/
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Re: "ISMAILI SUFI POETRY AND POEMS"

Post by From_Alamut »

~Holy Wise Ginan ~


“All the feelings “I” melt from heart,
When one falls in love with the Beloved,
The eyes turn into ceaseless streams of tears;
And everyday for the lover becomes a sleepless vigilance
If he were a bird, he would fly and receive the Deedar of the Beloved’s Face
Indeed, I am lost in ecstasy in company of my Beloved,
And embrace my Beloved warmly,
If I had the powers of a bird, I shall at once fly to my Beloved,
For the spiritual joys of Life Beyond,
My over-self has sacrificed all the Joys –
The Millions of Ecstasies of this world.
“My beloved’s arrows of love have pierced my heart and have coloured it with love;
In the sorrows of my Beloved’s separation, I wander madly.
Renouncing the company of the society and
The family I have drifted away from the world,
and yet (in my loneliness) my Beloved has
Not come to inquire my state.
“The heart which feels the bitterness
(Of separation)
Can never have the sleep of calm tranquillity,
And all the worldly love and worries are gone
(From the heart)
And day and night his eyes shed the tears of blood.
If I were to be ‘wedded’ to my Beloved, now,
Then, in my heart I shall lay the mat.
There shall I meet Him in the bonds
of Nur (Light)
Then I shall cling to Him forever,
and shall never hold any one’s hands.”



By: The Great Ismaili Hujjat Hazrat Pir Saddardin (Pbuh)
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Re: "ISMAILI-SUFI-DARWISH-MYSTIC"ESOTERIC" PO

Post by From_Alamut »

"It is in remembrance
of Allah that
the heart finds rest."


~Quran 13:28
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Re: "ISMAILI-SUFI-DARWISH-MYSTIC"ESOTERIC" PO

Post by From_Alamut »

All that is on earth
will perish;
But will abide (forever)
The Face of your Lord,
full of Majesty, Bounty
and Honour."


Holy Qur'ran, 55:26,27
kmaherali
Posts: 25105
Joined: Thu Mar 27, 2003 3:01 pm

Post by kmaherali »

A tourist visited a Sufi.

He was astonished to see that the Sufi's home was a simple room.

The only furniture was a mat and a kerosene lamp.

Tourist :"Sufi, where's your furniture?"

Sufi : "Where is yours?"

Tourist : "Mine? But I'm only a visitor here."

Sufi : "So am I !!"
kmaherali
Posts: 25105
Joined: Thu Mar 27, 2003 3:01 pm

Bhajan Rang De Chunariya by Anup Jalota |

Post by kmaherali »

Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tQ7yhBX9DJg

Lyrics and translation.

Rang De Chunariya English Translation


Rang De Chunariya is a Hindi Bhajan song with deep meaning for Krishna devotees. The best rendition is by Anup Jalota when he sang it live at the ISKCON temple. The songs were available in a double LP album known as Bhajan Sandhya. The meaning of chunariya requires some explanation because it is usually an outer garment covering that a female wears, however the song uses this as a powerful symbol to mean something very different. One of the central concepts of Krishna Consciousness is that our bodies are coverings like clothes, and after we die, the soul simply discards the body and comes back in a new one, as one would change clothes. Therefore, the beauty of this is that chunariya symbolises the body.

In Bhakti movement, one of the aims is to be like God, who is composed of infinite colours (wisdom). Therefore, asking god to paint your body (chunariya) in his colours is extremely desirable for Krishna devotees, because it also includes mind, heart, and soul. Therefore, chunariya represents all of those things as well. Mira understands the importance of this because without it she knows that she would never be able to go home to Lord Krishna. She expresses that she does not want any old colours and it has to be the same as HIS colours. Furthermore, she specifies that the colours should be such that they never come off, thus never forgetting the wisdom of god. Additionally, she specifies that even if the laundry-men wash it for their entire lives, then it should still not come off. Therefore, she wants this wisdom of God to be permanent in her.

This is a difficult song to understand if you did not read the classical back-stories of Mira and Krishna. However if you were fortunate to read them in the original Sanskrit then it is simple. In this song, Shyaam is another name for Lord Krishna, and since this is from the point of view of Mira, she refers to him as piya, which approximates to beloved (husband). The back-story of Mira was that she did not remarry after her earthly husband dies, and thereafter always considers Krishna to be her husband.

There are also other names for the Lord such as Giridhar Nagar, and Prabhu. Giridhar is simply another name given to Krishna because he lifted the mountain Giri with his hand (dhar). During this time, the mountain gave refuge (underneath it) to living things for protection. Mira refers to Krishna as Giridhar Nagar when she wishes to call upon his "all powerful" nature and kindness for giving refuge. The meaning in the song is that if he can lift mountains, then surely it is a trivial matter for him to paint her in his colours. Mira knows that Shyaam, Hari, and Prabhu are all names of Krishna, therefore she bows at their feet successively and asks Giridhar Nagar to colour her.

Lyrics and English Translation

Rang de chunariya...

Paint my body...


Shyaam piya, mori rang de chunariya.

Oh Lord, (please) paint my body.


Aisi rang de, ke rang nahi choote,


Paint it such, that the colours never come off,


dhobiya dhoye chahey, ye sari umariya.

even if the laundry-men wash it all of their lives.


lal na rangavu mei,

I do not want red,


hari na rangavu,

I do not want green,


Apne hi rang me, rang de chunariya.

Paint my body in YOUR colours.


Bina rangaye mai to, ghaar nahi jaoongi,


Without (god’s wisdom) colours, I will not go home,


biti he jaaye chaahe, yeh sari umariya.

even if it takes my whole life.


Mira ke prabhu, Giridhar Nagar,


Mira’s says, "Lord Giridhar Nagar",


(Questions)


Jal se patla kaun hai?

What is thinner than water?


Kaun bhumi se bhari?

What is heavier than earth?


Kaun agan se tej hai?

What is hotter than fire?


Kaun kajal se kali?

What is blacker than kajal (eyeliner)?


(Answers)


Jal se patla gynan hai,

Thinner than water is knowledge (of God),


aur paap bhumi se bhari.

(and) sin is heavier than earth.


Krodh agan se tej hai,

Anger is hotter than fire,


aur kalank kajal se kali.

(and) shame is darker than kajal.


Mira ke prabhu, giridhar nagar,

Mira’s says, "Lord Giridhar Nagar",


Prabhu charanan me,

At Prabhu’s feet,


Hari charanan me,

At Hari’s feet,


Shyaam charanan me,

At Shyaam’s feet,


Lagi najariya,

With a fixed gaze,


Shyaam piya, mori rang de chunariya...

Oh Lord, (please) paint my body (in your colours)...
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